Tap-dancing shoe



April 9 1935.

E. LANDI TAP mucme SHOE Filed Nov. 14, 1933 Fig. 5.

ATTORNEY INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 9, 1935 TAP-DANCING SHOE V Emanuele Landi, New York, N. Y.

Application November l i, 1933, Serial No. 697,984

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in dancing shoes of the type for use particularly in tap or clog dancing.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an inexpensive durable means for'incorporation in the sole of a dancing shoe and operative at will by contact vwith the floor toproduce a snapping or similar sound for emphasizing the rhythm of the dance music and attracting the attention of the "audience to selected steps in the dance.

Another object is to provide means for the purpose above set forth which is operated by pressure and by very slight effort on the part of the dancer.

- To the accomplishment of the above and other objects presently appearing, a preferred embodiment of my invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing and will now be described in detail and defined in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section, of a portion of a dancing shoe equipped according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view, with a cover plate, forming part of the invention, removed; and

Fig. 3 is a similar. view illustrating the cover plate.

Reference being had to the drawing, I designates the front portion of a dancing shoe including the upper 2, sole 3 and insole 4.

Incorporated in a suitable cut-out portion 5, extending rearwardly from the toe end of the sole 3, is a housing member 6 including an upper wall I, end walls 8, side walls, one of which is shown at 9, and a lateral flange Ill by means of which the housing is secured to the sole 3, as by nails III. A tappet member I l is mounted in the housing 6 by a pivot pin l2 for vertical rocking movement by contact with the floor. Preferably one end of the tappet member is provided with a button l3 of smooth rounded form for contacting with the floor to produce the desired rocking motion of a tappet. Tappet member II has an REISSUED upper wall I4, a portion of which is normally substantiall'y parallel with the sole 3 and spaced slightly therefrom, the remaining portion of said wall l4 inclining away from said wall I for a purpose presently clear. Intermediate the tappet member 11 and wall I is a sound producing member I5 preferably formed of thin sheet metal and having a centrally locatedconvex portion l6 10 bearing against the slanting portion of the wall 14 so that said portion is compressed between the wall 1 and member [6 by rockingof the latter upwardly. The member i5 and its portion [6 are designed to produce a snapping or crack-' ing sound when compressed by the aforesaid rocking movement of the tappet l l and also when released by rocking movement of the tappet in the opposite direction.

Preferably the member l5 has one end secured, as by nails ll, to one end of the tappet member I I and the latter is hollow, as shown in Fig. 1, to

act as a sound augmenting or amplifying chamher for the member IS. A cover plate I8 is se-' cured over the housing 1, as by nails I9, and provided with a central aperture 20 thru which the button l3 projects and a series of apertures 2| to prevent the cover plate l8 from deadening the sound produced.

It is thought that the operation of my invention will be clear from the foregoing description thereof, but it is; to be understood that whilea preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, right is herein reserved to such changes in form and modification in struc- 

